The Stitching Hour by Amanda Lee (English) Paperback Book

Description: The Stitching Hour by Amanda Lee In the latest mystery from the bestselling author of Wicked Stitch, the future of Marcy Singers embroidery shop is dangling by a thread...Marcys shop, the Seven-Year Stitch, is one year old this October so its time to party in little Tallulah Falls, Oregon. Aside from the Halloween decorations and festive stitching kits and patterns, Marcys got all sorts of celebratory swag, including Seven-Year Stitch key rings and goodie bags.Unfortunately, her new neighbors might spoil the revelry. An eccentric couple has opened a haunted house next door, and all that screaming will certainly scare off customers. But theres even more to be frightened of after a local waitress is found dead on the sidewalk with mysterious markings on her neck-and one of Marcys key rings beneath her. With no time to hem and haw, Marcy must act fast if she hopes to restore the peace to Tallulah Falls... FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Author Biography Amanda Lee is the author of the Embroidery Mysteries, including Wicked Stitch andThread End. She is married and has two gorgeous children. Like Marcy, she enjoys needlecrafts and pop culture. Review "This series [is] fresh and reliably entertaining."—Kings River Life MagazinePraise for the Embroidery Mysteries"Lee weaves an excellent cozy mystery."—Affaire de Coeur"Readers will enjoy spending time with the friendly folks of Tallulah Falls as well as Marcys adorable Irish wolfhound."—Publishers Weekly Review Quote "This series [is] fresh and reliably entertaining."-Kings River Life Magazine Praise for the Embroidery Mysteries "Lee weaves an excellent cozy mystery."-Affaire de Coeur "Readers will enjoy spending time with the friendly folks of Tallulah Falls as well as Marcys adorable Irish wolfhound."- Publishers Weekly Excerpt from Book Chapter One I reached down and patted the head of my Irish wolfhound, Angus. At only two years old, he still had a lot of puppy in him, but he was mannerly and well behaved. The patrons of my embroidery shop, the Seven-Year Stitch, loved him. "Can you believe weve been here in Tallulah Falls for almost a year?" I asked him. I jerked my head in the direction of Jill, the mannequin-slash-Marilyn-Monroe-lookalike that stood by the cash register. "Jill says she cant." I looked at her, as if shed actually said something. "Whats that, Jill? What you cant believe is how I havent dressed you in a beautiful new dress befitting the occasion?" I blew out a breath. "All in good time, Jill. All in good time." Okay, so maybe having a mom who was a Hollywood costume designer led me to do more than my fair share of play-pretend as a child, and maybe . . . just maybe . . . that trait had followed me over into adulthood. But I got lonely when I was the only person in the store. And when the only "people" around to talk with were Angus and Jill, I made do. Besides, I was pretty sure that Angus not only understood every word I said but that he communicated with me too. He had such expressive eyes. And that smile! With Jill, you just had to make it all up as you went and hope she wasnt one of those cursed paranormal items that would come to life and try to kill you one day. So on that creepy thought, I gazed around the store and firmly directed my thoughts back to my upcoming anniversary open house. Since it was October 1, Jill was wearing a witch costume. She wasnt scary--she was more of a Samantha from Bewitched type. Before the open house, I planned to change her into either a white or pink dress--more Marilyn than Sam. Everything else in the store would probably be all right as is , other than tidying up and borrowing a few folding chairs from the library. Since I was good friends with the librarian, Rajani "Reggie" Singh, I didnt think that would be a problem. Under normal circumstances, I had plenty of seating in my sit-and-stitch square--two navy sofas that faced each other across an oval maple coffee table, a red club chair at either end of the table, and ottomans matching the chairs. I wondered briefly if I should shampoo the red-and-blue braided rug that lay beneath the table, but I decided a thorough vacuuming would be fine. I turned to the merchandise part of the store, where Id been marking down prices and placing specials on the shelf nearest the door. I looked over the embroidery projects that lined the walls with a critical eye. Should I add more? Take a few down? There was the redwork swan . . . the Celtic cross . . . the sampler Id made from Louisa Ralstons original . . . the bunny done in crewelwork . . . the Bollywood-inspired elephant . . . the pirate map tapestry . . . the cross-stitched bride. . . . With a slight smile, I decided to leave them all. I didnt think it was necessary to add another one . . . yet . . . but there werent any I wanted to take down. I went over to the sit-and-stitch square, moved aside one of the candlewick pillows, and plopped down on the navy sofa facing the storefront window. Id come a long way in the past year, professionally and personally. Just before I moved here, Id adopted Angus, and we were living in an apartment in San Francisco where I worked in an accounting office. Then Sadie MacKenzie had called and urged me to come to Tallulah Falls and open my own embroidery shop. Sadie had been my best friend and roommate in college. She and her husband, Blake, had a coffee shop called MacKenzies Mochas right down the street from the Stitch. She hadnt had to twist my arm; and despite my ups and downs in Tallulah Falls, I was happier here than Id ever been. Id barely sat down when Vera Langhorne came through the door. "Good morning, Marcy," she said. "Hi," I said as Angus trotted over to greet Vera. She scratched his head and cooed to him for a minute before joining me on the sofa. Vera had also come a long way in the year that Id known her. She was no longer the mousy brunette in baggy clothes that Id met when Id first arrived in Tallulah Falls. Now she wore her hair blond with subtle highlights, and she always dressed with style and class. Today she wore gray slacks, black pumps, and a royal blue short-sleeved sweater twinset. "Youll never believe whats coming in next door to you," she said. "Please tell me that whatever it is wont be operated by a relative of Nellie Davis," I said with a groan. Nellie Davis owned the aromatherapy shop down the street, and she and I had never been friends. Heck, wed hardly been civil. Id tried over the past year to warm up our relationship, but Nellie was convinced that all the mishaps that had befallen Tallulah Falls had coincided with my arrival and that either I or my shop--or both--was cursed. Shed been so antagonistic toward me that shed recently talked her sister, Clara, into renting the space next to the Seven-Year Stitch--a knitting shop, no less, where shed also planned to sell embroidery supplies! Unfortunately, Clara had met with a bad end, and the shop was once again for lease. Well, not anymore, it seemed. "Its gonna be a haunted house!" Vera clapped her hands in excitement. "Wont that be fun? Theyre only here for the month of October, but from what they told Paul, they plan to do it up right." Vera was dating Paul Samms, a reporter for the Tallulah Falls Examiner . "Theyre going to take the first few days of the month to decorate and move in all their creepy crawly stuff, and the actual haunted house is going to open the following weekend," she continued. I frowned. "Are they only going to be open during the weekends? If so, how will they make enough to justify renting the building?" "According to Paul, after that opening weekend, theyre going to be open every night," said Vera. "So they believe--and so do I--that theyll make their rent back many times over. Theyll have special events throughout the month to draw repeat business, like themed costume contests, local celebrities--news anchors and people like that . . . Paul might even be one. And theyre having concessions!" "Theyre having concessions at a haunted house? That seems a little odd." "Im surprised Sadie hasnt mentioned it to you. She and Blake are in charge of the food." "Neither of them has said a word to me," I said. "How will that work? I cant imagine where theyll find the time to run a concession stand on top of operating a busy coffee shop." "Paul says theyre going to do fairly simple stuff--caramel apples, popcorn and kettle corn, cookies, some hot chocolate and a couple of other beverages maybe--and the patrons have to eat outside of the actual haunted house," said Vera. "The haunted house operators dont want to wind up with a colossal mess. And one of the MacKenzies Mochas waitresses will work the haunted house each night. So it really shouldnt interfere with Sadie and Blakes schedules all that much." "Cool." "You dont look like you really feel that its all that cool," Vera said. "Whats wrong?" "Im just concerned about how it will affect my evening classes," I told her. "Some of my students are a little older--like Muriel--and I wouldnt want her to be frightened or put off if she hears a ton of screaming going on next door." Vera laughed. "Sweetie, you know Muriel cant hear herself think. And I dont know that itll be that disruptive. Maybe you could put on some music or something." Oh, sure, I thought. That would be great--blaring music to drown out the screaming teenagers next door . "Besides, you might enjoy going to the haunted house with Ted." Vera winked. "Im not saying it wont be fun," I said. "I guess Im just being selfish. How will this affect me . . . Angus . . . my students . . . my open house?" "Thats right! Your anniversarys coming up!" Vera clasped her hands together. "What are we doing for that?" "I thought Id have special sales and markdowns for the two weeks leading up to the open house. And I want to have gift bags for open house attendees." I leaned forward. "But Im struggling with what to put into the bags. Any suggestions?" Vera looked up at the ceiling. "Well . . . you could put something different into every bag . . . like a coupon. Each coupon would be for a different amount off a particular item or the customers entire purchase. And you could have one coupon for a free item within a particular price range." "Thats a fantastic idea," I said. She smiled at me. "Dont sound so surprised, darling." "Im not surprised." I laughed. "Honest. Ive simply been pondering over what I can give out that will appeal to everyone and not break the bank. The coupons are a wonderful idea." "Sure," she said. "And you can put candies . . . teeny little sewing kits . . . maybe those braided friendship bracelets the kids like. . . ." "You have a ton of fantastic ideas, Vera Langhorne! You should be an event planner." Vera laughed. "Ill take that under advisement." Just then, Reggie hurried into the shop. Although she was beautifully dressed in an Indian-style coral tunic with matching slacks, Reggies normally elegantly coifed short gray hair looked as if shed barely taken time to brush it Details ISBN0451473841 Author Amanda Lee Short Title STITCHING HOUR Series Embroidery Mystery Language English ISBN-10 0451473841 ISBN-13 9780451473844 Media Book Series Number 9 Birth 1967 Pages 304 DEWEY 813.6 Imprint Obsidian Mysteries Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States Audience Age 18 Year 2015 Publication Date 2015-11-03 US Release Date 2015-11-03 UK Release Date 2015-11-03 Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Format Paperback Audience General NZ Release Date 2017-01-14 AU Release Date 2017-01-14 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:95962390;

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